Breadcrumb

Arthur Joyce

My research and teaching focus on the pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica particularly surrounding issues of power, political dynamics, and landscape. Since 1986, I have conducted interdisciplinary archaeological and paleoenvironmental research in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. I use poststructural theories of practice and power to examine sociopolitical change in ancient Oaxaca. I also investigate the 4000 year history of human impact on the environment along the Río Verde drainage basin of Oaxaca. My field research includes archaeological excavation and survey in the lower Río Verde Valley along the Pacific coast as well as geological and paleoecological research along the entire drainage basin. I teach undergraduate courses on ancient civilizations, the archaeology of Mexico, environmental archaeology along with graduate seminars on archaeological method and theory, social theory in archaeology, and materiality.

Current Projects:

Río Verde Archaeology

The research consists of three distinct projects, although with overlapping problems, participants, and sources of funding: (1) The Río Verde Archaeological Project; (2) The Río Verde Human Ecology Project; and (3) The Religion and Politics in Formative Period Mesoamerica Project.